1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a material handling tool for simultaneously handling a multitude of workpieces. The tool is powered by vacuum generated within the tool itself.
2. Disclosure Information
The simultaneous processing of multiple workpieces presents interesting design challenges to the designers of material handling machines. These challenges are particularly mettlesome in the case of metallic and nonmetallic containers of the end-consumer types used for soft drinks and other canned and bottled goods. Such containers present a challenge to the designers of automated material handling equipment because the containers must be handled at various points during manufacturing, storage, and distribution, in both in the full and empty states. Needless to say, all handling must be done without crushing or otherwise injuring the containers. Moreover, it is frequently desirable to handle a large number of containers simultaneously so as to increase throughput on a given process line. Although fixed automation has been used to attain this goal, the lack of flexibility in terms of the ability to handle a variety of containers or other workpieces provokes the additional expense of purpose-built machinery.
Vacuum has been used to hold containers and other workpieces to end of arm tools mounted upon robot arms in the past, but such vacuum devices have not generally proven to be satisfactory because known devices generally used a single vacuum source, which if impaired, would render the entire device nonfunctional. Another problem with known vacuum devices resided in the fact that if integrity of the vacuum system were to become impaired, vacuum would be lost for the entire tool, as opposed to a portion of the tool. A tool according to the present invention solves these problems, while providing the flexibility to handle a widely differing array of workpieces, such as single serving beverage containers and packaged good of various sizes.